1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a four-wheel drive toy utilizing a flywheel, and particularly to a four-wheel drive toy which can energetically run over an uneven surface such as an irregular floor surface, gradient surface and obstacle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional four-wheel drive toy adapted to run using a flywheel, since both front wheel and rear wheel axles are fixed in parallel to each other, when trying to run over an irregular floor surface or an obstacle the four-wheel drive toy cannot contact the surface or obstacle on four wheels thereof but in many cases tends to run in a state in which the toy can contact the surface or obstacle only at two points on one of the front wheels and one of the rear wheels, and it has been difficult for the conventional four-wheel drive toy to run over the irregular floor surface or obstacle.
In order to solve this problem it has been required to develop a technology in which four wheels of a four-wheel drive toy can all come into contact with an irregular floor surface or an obstacle as in many cases as possible when the toy tries to run, over the surface or obstacle so that it is ensured that driving force is sufficiently transmitted to the surface or obstacle.
Then, the present invention was made in view of the aforesaid problem inherent in the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a four-wheel drive toy adapted to run using a flywheel in which four wheels of the toy are all made to come into contact with an uneven surface such as an irregular floor surface, gradient surface and obstacle as much as possible as possible so that driving force from all the four wheels is transmitted to the uneven surface to thereby allow the toy to run over the uneven surface.
With a view to attaining the object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a four-wheel drive toy using a flywheel characterized in that a front wheel axle is mounted in such a manner as to swing vertically relative to a chassis so that front and rear wheels of the four-wheel drive toy are all made to easily come into contact with an uneven surface such as an irregular floor surface, gradient surface and obstacle when the four-wheel drive toy is driven to run over the uneven surface, whereby it is ensured that driving force from the respective wheels is transmitted to the uneven surface with which said front and rear wheels of said four-wheel drive toy are in contact, thereby allowing the four-wheel drive toy to run over the uneven surface.
According to the first aspect of the invention, since the front wheel axle is mounted in such a manner as to swing vertically relative to the chassis of the four-wheel drive toy, for example, when the left front wheel rides on an obstacle the front wheel axle is allowed to automatically twist so that the right front wheel is prevented from being lifted up away from the surface with which it has been in contact, whereby the four wheels are allowed to still keep in contact with the surface with which the respective wheels are in contact and the driving force from all the four wheels is transmitted to the obstacle, thereby allowing a main body of the toy to run over the obstacle.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a four-wheel drive toy as set forth in the first aspect of the invention, wherein the front wheel axle is not only mounted transversely in notched portions in the chassis but also passed through a swing shaft for the front wheels, and wherein a projection provided at a distal end of the front wheel swing shaft is fittingly inserted into a hole opened in a front end surface of the chassis, whereas a distal end of a transmission shaft for transmitting driving force from the flywheel is fittingly inserted into a rear end of the swing shaft.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the front wheel axle is transversely mounted in the notched portions in the chassis, the front wheels are allowed to swing vertically. Then, in this toy driving force from the flywheel is designed to be transmitted from the rear wheels to the front wheels, and even with the four-wheel drive mechanism since the front wheel axle is allowed to swing vertically by way of the front wheel swing shaft, when the toy main body tries to run over the uneven surface such as an irregular floor surface, gradient surface and obstacle the toy main body can run over the uneven surface while the four wheels are kept in contact with the surface with which the respective wheels have been in contact.
The present invention relates to a four-wheel drive toy using a flywheel. Namely, in the construction thereof a front wheel axle is mounted in such a manner as to swing vertically relative to a chassis so that front and rear wheels are all made to easily come into contact with an uneven surface such as an irregular floor surface, gradient surface and obstacle when the four-wheel drive toy tries to run over the uneven surface, whereby it is ensured that the driving force from the respective wheels is transmitted to the surface with which the respective wheels are in contact, thereby allowing the four-wheel drive toy to vigorously run over the uneven surface.